I survived the first year! This time last year, my family and I welcomed the newest member of our family into our lives. When I had my first baby, I mistakenly thought that my stomach would be back to normal as soon as I gave birth. I was pretty disappointed when I looked three months pregnant after I gave birth.

Many people say that it took 9 months for your body to grow to accommodate a baby, and it it reasonable to assume that it will take that long for it to get back to normal. Fair. Not entirely true, but fair.

I reached out to a few of my friends online and got some of their comments on how they feel about their bodies post baby. You will see their thoughts in the comment boxes throughout the post.

Childbirth helped me accept my body and be less self conscious in a way. I am less worried about my husband seeing my imperfections because he saw the work it took, and the changes my body went through, to grow and birth Dax. I find that I now see my body as a reflection of this perfect little human we have created. Of course my old clothes no longer fit, and they may never fit the way they used to, but this is a new part of my life and a great reason to change my wardrobe. – Kacey C.

In the interest of honest documentation, I decided to do a little round up about what my stomach looked like after 1 day, every week for 6 weeks, and then again at 1 year.

Day 1 Postpartum Body

As expected, I looked three months pregnant. My belly is dark and I have a couple stretch marks that I hadn’t noticed before. Nothing to be concerned about.

One Week Postpartum Body

One week postpartum, and I’m like…maaaaaybe I should go to the gym. I don’t. If I am being perfectly honest, I have probably attended the gym 12 times in the past 12 months.

What my friends are saying:

I feel like society puts too much pressure on new mothers to not even return to their pre-baby body, but to an even better version. Thus,the first question many new mothers ask their doctor is not about breastfeeding or mental health support, it’s “when can I work out?”. Every body is beautiful, no matter how many stretch marks or rolls it bares. Jennifer T.

2 Week Postpartum Body

The lines are sweatpants lines. Other than that, things are looking up!

3 Week Postpartum Body

Three weeks deep. I am breastfeeding and eating anything I want. My tummy is still a bit dark, and my stretch marks are still there, but in between breastfeeding and work, I can’t be bothered to care.

Six Week Postpartum Body

As you can tell, I have finally started leaving the house on a regular basis. In this photo I am actually dressed! Yay me 😀

What my friends are saying

I have been working out 4-5 times a week at baby bootcamp and spin class and it has helped me be a better mom. I am so new at this and I realize that I need time for myself and fitness is a great tool for self care for me. – Kacey C.

Six Months Postpartum

By this time I am really getting into the swing of life. I am getting dressed every day. I have kinda of a schedule. It’s summer and I am wearing crop tops sometimes 🙂

One Year Postpartum

I noticed that once I stopped breastfeeding I started to gain weight. In my earlier post, I let you know I was too lazy to go to the gym, and that is why I am trying to eat better. I mean, that’s how it works right? You can either eat better or work out, not both…. haha just joking. I was fooling myself, but it made me feel better.

Anyhow, I am finally wearing underwire bras! I noticed that you can see my underwear in one photo. I was going to edit it out, but I promised that these would be unedited photos, so you get my underwear and all.

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What has your experience and relationship with your postpartum body been?